


The Day the Eclipse Ended

by NavigatorV



Category: 999: Nine Hours Nine Persons Nine Doors - Fandom, Zero Escape (Video Games), Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward - Fandom, Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma - Fandom
Genre: Canon Het Relationship, Gen, One Shot, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-10
Updated: 2016-08-10
Packaged: 2018-08-07 21:22:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7730200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NavigatorV/pseuds/NavigatorV
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One day Junpei is called suddenly and told to visit Crash Keys. There two very important people are waiting for him to make a decision.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Day the Eclipse Ended

 

_Out of the blue. Unbelievable, on one of his only days off, Junpei **had** to get a call from Sigma._

“ _Hey, uh what do you need? I was kinda hoping I could relax today.”_

“ _Sorry Tenmyouji, but we need you to come back to the lab for something. Akane and I will give you the details when you get here.”_

_Blunt and brief as usual, Sigma’s call ended there. With a huff, Junpei proceeded over to his jacket. He knew there was little else he could do beyond complain whenever Akane needed something. She’s lucky she’s my wife, he thought to himself as he proceeded out the door, still attempting to pull his shoes on._

_The cold winter air blew passed his face as he rode to the facility. Luckily it hadn’t started snowing yet; at least he could still ride the old motorcycle Seven had given him to blow off some steam. He didn’t regret for a second joining Crash Keys, especially since it was run by Akane and her brother. But there were times it was very tiring. Still, it payed the bills and it beat drinking himself stupid every night to wash the days events off like he had done not too long ago._

_Eventually he arrived at the unassuming building Crash Keys had been using recently. They moved from facilities fairly often, so it took some finding, but after a while he made his way to the door and proceeded onward. Of course, he had to go through the usual procedure to gain access. Crash Keys certified ID, social security number, DNA sampling, the works. What was surprising was how discreetly they handled it. To any normal person the agents there would seem like any other worker asking for ID to buy a magazine or some booze. Writing a ciphered check and accidentally brushing one’s hand on the edge of the counter and similar events were common-place for members of Crash Keys. If nothing else, they were certainly very good at being a **secret** organization._

_After they were absolutely sure Junpei wasn’t some maniac attempting to steal secrets, he was allowed in the lab secured underground. It was then that he saw a number of familiar pods and a large column accompanying them._

“ _So you found the transporter, eh? Well, that’s cool and all, but was it really worth making me transport my butt over here to see it?”_

_There ahead of him stood Sigma and Akane. Sigma turned and addressed Junpei first._

“ _Ah, Tenmyouji, you finally came. What took you?”_

 

“ _My keys may have been sitting in the bathroom cabinet. Hey, don’t look at me like that, I was tired and needed to shave last night. But seriously, what’s up? What was so vital that I was needed to come back here on my day off?”_

_Akane was the first to speak this time._

“ _Well, erm, there’s something I wanted to check with you.”_

_This certainly wasn’t like Akane._

“ _Kanny, what’s with you, you know you can be direct with me. It’s not like I’m an outsider anymore.”_

_This may have been a mistake, seeing as Akane was suddenly looking down whilst Sigma glared at him._

“ _Uh, I didn’t….just…just come on and tell me what’s going on, please?”_

“ _Well, I know we’ve only been married for a few months now and we never really talked about it, but…something happened recently and I just needed to ask you something..”_

_Now Junpei was really confused._

“ _You could have asked me at home. Why here?”_

“ _It just…had to be here. Trust me.”_

_With a breath, Akane looked at Junpei with a serious expression on her face._

“ _What do you think about raising a child?”_

…

…

_Junpei was….perplexed. That was not exactly what he had expected at all._

“ _Uh, Akane….um would you….why did…when did…?”_

_His face felt like it was back in the incinerator in building Q. He then turned to Sigma._

“ _Hey, uh would you mind leaving? Like right now.”_

_Then he couldn’t believe what happened next. Laughter. From Sigma. The guy normally looked like he got his mouth surgically altered to appear upside-down was actually laughing at Junpei._

“ _Dude, what the hell? I’m serious, this is-”_

_Then he heard Akane walk up towards him. Her face was an oddly deep shade of pink._

 

“ _Jumpy, that…I may have worded that oddly. I’m not…you don’t have to worry about_ _ **that**_ _happening quite yet. What I meant was…well…you just have to see for yourself.”_

_She turned, motioning to Junpei to follow her. He complied, not knowing what to think when it came to this woman anymore. She lead him closer to the transporter. After a few more steps, she moved behind one of the pods, muttering something. What really surprised Junpei was hearing a distinctly different voice murmur back. Sigma moved next to Junpei, still trying to stifle a grin from the moment before._

_A few seconds, that went on at a snail's pace, passed until finally Akane returned from behind the pod, clasping a small hand. That hand turned out to be attached to a blond boy, no older than twelve. He seemed….familiar, though Junpei couldn’t quite place it._

“ _Who’s the kid?”_

_At this the boy visibly whinced. Akane turned and whispered more to the boy with a reassuring look on her face._

“ _Uh….is this what you were talking about? You want us to adopt this kid?”_

_Akane smiled a little before replying._

“ _Well, that depends on you Jumpy.”_

_Removing her hand from the child’s grasp, she knelt down to be eye-level with the boy, a fatally sweet look in her eyes. This kid was important, that was for sure._

“ _Why don’t you go introduce yourself?”_

_He nodded before hesitantly tip-toeing forward. Slowly he made his way to Junpei, looking like he’d fall over if the wind blew the wrong way._

_He was wearing fairly bare clothes, but one thing stuck out to Junpei. It wasn’t even logical why it did, as it was just a normal, ordinary bolo tie. Still, there was something nagging in the back of Junpei’s head. No matter what he did, a part of him just could not shake this bizarre feeling in the pit of his stomach._

_It was then that the boy spoke, his voice barely above a whisper._

“… _.grandpa?”_

_It was as if a million images flashed through Junpei’s head. Years worth of memories all coming back to him at once._

‘ _Isn’t it obvious? I’m going to look for-’_

‘ _Now all I have to do is get him out of here and this’ll all be over.’_

‘ _Then he’s…he’s going to…oh God no…’_

‘... _t_ _hen whatever god wrote these rules can fu--_ _’_

…

‘ _You know, there’s a history where I keep searching for you, even after I’m old and craggily-’_

_As if his life depended on it, Junpei instantly embraced the boy, tears beginning to well in his eyes._

“ _Quark. Oh my god…you…”_

_It was then that he realized that Quark was beginning to cry._

“ _Ah, sorry, did I hurt you or anyth-”_

_It was then that Junpei saw a large grin on the boy’s face as he attempted to wipe the streams of tears off his face. Junpei looked back and forth at Sigma and Akane. They said nothing with only expressions of happiness, allowing Junpei to have a moment with the boy he had raised by himself in another history. When it was obvious that Quark was still too overjoyed to stop crying, Junpei spoke up._

“ _C’mon Quark, the other me raised you to be stronger than that.”_

_He said this despite the streams running down his own cheeks. He squeezed the boy in his arms once more for a few minutes before standing up._

“ _You two…you SHIFTed just so you could bring Quark here?”_

_It was Sigma who responded._

“ _Well, technically we needed to research_ _the transporter_ _to see if we could find ways to use it or even improve on it. But thus far, we’ve mostly only used it to send back certain people._ _He was Akane's first priority when she heard we'd located it._ _”_

_Akane stepped forward._

“ _Crash Keys is working on forging his identity,_ _that way_ _he would be able to have a home regardless of whether or not you remembered, but I take it that an orphanage is no longer necessary?”_

_Junpei couldn’t fathom what he should say. All of his gripes from earlier seemed to have disappeared with the utterance of the word ‘grandpa’. He glanced at Quark for another moment, unable to believe this was all real._

“ _She’s right, isn’t she grandpa? You…yo_ _u_ _don’t want to get rid of me, do you?”_

“ _Quark…no I would die before I’d abandon you.”_

_His eyes flickered over to Akane before he continued._

“ _Do you..think it you’re ready to finally have a mother? Or…well grandmother in this case I guess..”_

_He would be feeling the retribution for that last bit later but for now he didn’t care. The look of sheer wonder in Quark's eyes made it all worth it._

“ _Can I really live with you both grandpa? I’ll work extra hard, I promise!”_

“ _Well Akane? Want him to start working for Crash Keys?”_

 

“ _Junpei Tenmyouji! This is_ _ **not**_ _2074\. He’ll be going to school.”_

_Uh oh, when the full name came out, he knew he was in for it. Junpei simply laughed a guttural laugh that he hadn’t experienced in ages._

“ _Fine, fine. Well Quark, get used to this, when she isn’t eating cake she’s pretty much the boss.”_

 

“ _Oh Jumpy, I’m sure you’d rather I not play_ _ **another**_ _puzzle with your limbs, right?”_

_After burying that image as far into the back of his mind as possible, Junpei gazed over at Quark once more._

“ _Well, what do you say? Want our first outing as a family be to the ice cream parlor?”_

_He didn’t have to wait long for the answer._

—

_That night he went to sleep exhausted. But laying next to him was the greatest, most important woman in his life. In the next room, the child that had saved his life simply by being in it lay in a brand new bed._

_All three of them drifted into their dreams, the taste of root beer and ice cream still fresh in their mouths._

 

 


End file.
